9/7: Sad Record Set; Hot Hans; Littlefield Fired; 17-of-20; Big Bat Day; Immaculate Frame; HBD Gorkys

• 1905 - In his home debut, rookie Lefty Leifield gave up three runs in the first, then settled into a groove until tiring and surrendering three more runs in the ninth frame as the Bucs rolled to an 11-7 win over the Reds at Exposition Park. Fred Clarke banged out four hits while Honus Wagner and Heinie Peitz added three apiece, with Hans swatting a double and triple.
• 1908 - Led by Honus Wagner’s 6-for-7 day at the plate, including five straight hits, a double, triple and sacrifice, the Pirates swept St. Louis 9-7 and 7-1 at Exposition Park to move within percentage points of the league leading NY Giants. Sam Leever won the opener while Vic Willis scattered eight singles to take the second match.
• 1925 - Pittsburgh won for the 17th time in 20 games when they defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-5 at Forbes Field in the opener of a twin bill. Kiki Cuyler went 4-for-5 with a double and triple while every Pirate in the lineup had a hit. Red Oldham gave up 15 hits, but went the distance for the win. The Cubs banged out 16 more hits in the second game to gain a 9-8 split.

Red Oldham (photo Getty Images)

• 1940 - The Bucs scored eight runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth to beat the Cardinals 14-9. Arky Vaughan‚ Terry Moore‚ and Vince DiMaggio all homered as Vaughan and DiMaggio combined for seven RBI at Sportsman’s Park.
• 1942 - In the opener of a twinbill at Forbes Field, the Pirates scored 11 runs in the sixth inning to set a modern club mark and overcome a 5-0 deficit against the Cards to rally for an 11-6 win. They didn't have an inning that big again until 1992. Bud Stewart led the attack with two hits, three RBI and a pair of runs. Murry Dickson faced two batters and didn’t get an out, but was credited with the win; the guy that relieved him, Howie Pollet, gave up four runs in ⅓ of an inning so Dickson was deemed more effective. The Bucs dropped the nitecap 6-4.
• 1948 - The Pirates chased Jim Hearn after two innings on the way to a 6-2 win at Forbes Field. The game was noteworthy as it took Pittsburgh six more years and a dozen losses before they claimed another win against the St. Louis righty.
• 1953 - The Pirates swept a twin bill for the first time that year‚ beating the NY Giants 9-7 and 5-3 at the Polo Grounds. Eddie Pellagrini had four hits‚ including a HR‚ to back Bob Friend in the opener. Lefty LaPalme was the winner in the nitecap as the Bucs beat Jim Hearn after 12 straight defeats at his hands. His last loss to the Bucs was exactly six years ago to the day.

Lefty LaPalme 1953 Bowman B&W series

• 1962 - Bill Mazeroski hit a grand slam and drove home six runs to prime a 10-1 Bucco win against LA’s Stan Williams at Dodger Stadium. Earl Francis tossed a four hit, complete game victory against the league leading Dodgers.
• 1974 - The Pirates overcame a 4-0 deficit with a five run seventh against Montreal at TRS, with seven straight Bucs reaching base. The Expos came back to take the contest into extra innings against Dave Guisti, but Dave Parker’s 12th inning two out, walk-off single plated Richie Hebner for a 6-5 Bucco win. Ramon Hernandez worked the last two frames for the win.
• 1982 - Jason Thompson hit his 30th home run of the season off Mike Scott in a 9-5 win over the Mets‚ becoming just the eighth player in history to hit 30 home runs during a season in each league. (He hit 31 home runs for the Detroit Tigers in 1977.) Richie Hebner and Mike Easler also went long at TRS.

Jason Thompson 1986 Fleer series

• 1987 - Closer Jeff Robinson tossed an immaculate inning, the first in Bucco history, when he K’ed Cubs Leon Durham, Andre Dawson and Rafael Palmeiro on nine pitches in the eighth. It was the first time since Bruce Sutter in 1977 that an immaculate inning was pitched. Of Robinson’s nine strikes, six were swinging, two called, and one fouled. He worked the ninth without any more punch outs to earn a save for Brian Fisher in a 3-2 win at Wrigley Field. It was his first save as a Pirate; he joined the team August 21st as part of the Rick Reuschel trade with the Giants. The Bucco runs came in on a Terry Harper homer, his first as a Pirate, and Bobby Bonilla’s eighth inning, two-out, two-run double.
• 1987 - OF Gorkys Hernandez was born in Giiria, Venezuela. He was blessed with good wheels and a great glove, but his bat limited him to a couple of cups of coffee in Pittsburgh in 2012 and 2015, playing for three other organizations in between.
• 2007 - GM Dave Littlefield was fired. Brian Graham, the director of player development for the Pirates, served as interim general manager until new Pirates GM Neal Huntington took over three weeks later.
• 2009 - The Pittsburgh Pirates set a new North American standard for consecutive losing seasons by a major sports franchise with their 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs (Daniel McCutchen took the L), extending their sub-.500 record to 17 years in a row. The Pirates had shared the record of 16 consecutive losing seasons with the 1933-48 Philadelphia Phillies.

Remember it well...(photo via Madpoet)

• 2012 - The Pirates committed seven errors, one less than the franchise mark set in 1939, in front of 32,699 dismayed fans at PNC Park and lost to the Cubs 12-2.
• 2014 - Pirate bats ran wild over the Cubs at Wrigley Field as the Bucs ran away with a 10-4 decision. Their 19 hits were the most in a game since 2012. Every starter, including the pitcher, had a hit; seven players had multiple hits. Jordy Mercer & Andrew McCutchen banged back-to-back homers while Neil Walker and Gerrit Cole also went long. Cole lasted six innings, plenty long enough to pick up the win. It gave the Pirates a three game sweep of Chi-Town, the first time Pittsburgh swept a series at Wrigley Field since 2000.